Al Jaber responds to first UN global climate stocktake

Reuters/Christophe Van Der Perre

• World not on track to meet Paris goals, UN says
• Nations need ‘to urgently disrupt business-as-usual’
• Minimum 43% global emissions cut needed by 2030

Cop28 president designate Sultan Al Jaber has urged nations to “urgently disrupt business-as-usual” to meet climate change goals, as the UN warned in its first global climate stocktake that progress made to date has been “inadequate”.

The stocktake is a comprehensive review of countries’ progress on cutting emissions since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.

The review concludes that the world is “not on track” to meet the pledges set out eight years ago. 

The Paris Agreement established goals needed to keep global warming to a maximum 1.5°C temperature rise to curb its impact on the planet.

The UN’s report said the agreement has “driven near-universal climate action” since its adoption. But progress is “still inadequate based on the best available science,” it says.

“The global community is not on track to meet the long-term goals set out in the Paris Agreement, despite the collective progress made,” the report said. 

It added that “the window to keep limiting warming to 1.5°C within reach is closing rapidly” and will only be achievable with “radical decarbonisation” and “system transformation”. 

There needs to be at least a 43 percent reduction in annual global emissions by 2030 to meet the 1.5°C objective.

No individual nations are mentioned in the 47-page report. The stocktake itself is based on more than a year of talks with the countries due to attend Cop28 hosted by the UAE later this year. 

Al Jaber said in a statement: “Today’s global stocktake provides clear direction on how we can meet the expectations of the Paris Agreement by taking decisive action in this critical decade.

“To keep 1.5°C within reach we must act with ambition and urgency to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030.”

He called on public and private sector leaders with fresh commitments to address climate change.   

“We need to rapidly decarbonise both the supply side and demand side of the energy system at the same time; triple renewable energy by 2030, commercialise other zero carbon solutions like hydrogen and scale up the energy system free of all unabated fossil fuels, while eliminating the emissions of energy we use today.” 

Nature and food systems must be protected, and financing to tackle the effects of climate change must be reformed, he added.  

“I believe we can deliver all of this while creating sustainable economic growth for our people. But we must urgently disrupt business as usual and unite like never before to move from ambition to action and rhetoric to results.”